The surgery
Post-surgery Week 1
Post-surgery Week 2
Post-surgery Week 3
Post-surgery Week 4
Post-surgery Week 5
Week 6
Day 36 (Thur) – I would definitely say that my legs had the “Day
after a workout” feeling this morning; they felt very heavy and a little more
sore than my new normal. I don’t mind
though, I’ve been sore plenty of times over the last few years. I just have to push through (smartly) without
going into the danger zone.
In the way of
evaluating myself I still have a limp due to weakness in my thigh/hip and
soreness in my knee but I think I’m moving a bit better for short
distances.
I decided at work today to try walking more than I have to
date. I need it and I believe my hip and
leg can handle it. They, my foot and hip,
seem to be handling the extra exertion well enough, they get sore quickly and
they are generally pretty tight but they are feeling stronger.
Day 37 (Fri) – I had another session of physical therapy today. I was initially a little worried that the physical
therapist wouldn’t agree with me wanting to walk crutch free 100% of the time
as I still can’t support my weight on the left leg or walk without a pronounced
limp. I had thought that it may be
trying to do too much too soon but everyone at the facility seemed to be
pleased with my progress and there were no words of concern or consternation: No news is good news right?
The PT session went well as far as my mind and body were concerned. I received more exercises to compliment the
first ones they gave me last week; the most exciting one being 10 minutes on
the stationary bike. I’d wanted to get
back on the bike for weeks now as it’s my best source of cardio exercise when I
can’t run. I also received my first massage
session on the left hip and quad which felt great after the knots were worked
out. I may be imagining things but I
feel as though walking felt a little easier this afternoon after physical
therapy and massage sessions.
Day 38 (Sat) – I walked a mile today, without those pesky
crutches. Charlene and her two dogs
joined me on a neighborhood walk to get us all some exercise, to fulfill a
virtual run/walk challenge I’d signed up for months ago, and to give me some
company (Thanks girls). I stretched and iced
with them too, not quite like the old race days (heh) but still it felt like
familiar territory.
I had the strength left to buy groceries on the way home; walking
around the stores with a standard shopping cart most of the time and usually
parking in standard parking spots instead of searching for closer handicapped
spots.
Day 39 (Sun) – I woke up this morning feeling the need to
start it off right, so I hopped on my stationary bike for a nice 10 minute ride. It’s not enough to quicken my breath but it
does very well at getting my legs warmed up.
I had my first ChiRunning/ChiWalking
online lesson this morning: I’ve really
been looking forward to doing these lessons especially with shedding the
crutches and walking under my own power again.
The first lesson is titled: Feel
yourself move as a unit. I won’t give
you the lesson, you should go check it out yourself, but I’ll tell you what it
means to me: To move as a unit is to
move in such a way as having your mind and all of your body parts moving in
balance, as one in form and function.
This lesson has already helped me focus more on the way I stand and
move, to be taller and straighter, to move more like my body is meant to rather
than how my unconscious worry wants it too.
I still limp, I have a lot of healing to do yet after all, but I’m not
compounding the issue by leaning or hunching or shying away from how the leg
and hip are supposed to work. I’ve been
using ChiRunning to help me race and train for several years now and I know this
will help during my recovery.
I had an interesting idea yesterday and decided to search it
out today: Yesterday while shopping I
just happened to pass through the pet supplies section of a grocery store and
noticed that a lot of the dog toys had the round, tubular, knobby shape that
the typical foot massage roller had. I’ve
need a small roller for my foot, to help work out the aches and pains it’s been
getting since I’ve started putting my full weight on it again. The problem is that the standard foot rollers
from the “Yoga” and “Exercise Equipment” sections of the local stores costs
more than I had to spend. I ended up
striking proverbial gold in a Walmart dog toy 99 cent bin, a hard rubber doggie
chew toy. Exactly what I needed for the
price I wanted.
Day 40 (Mon) – My little 99 cent dog toy was my best buddy
this morning: My foot has been the biggest point of tightness and discomfort
since I started walking again and this little find really helps me work the
aches out, I’ve used it even more than I’ve iced today. I’m happy to say that my leg and hip are
almost non issues at this point in time, save for having to rebuild their
strength, I don’t have much pain and I only have to ice a few times a day.
This week’s ChiRunning lesson has been helping me walk and
stand with more comfort today. I have to
stop and refocus quite often but I do feel a positive difference.
I had my 3rd follow up visit with my doctor’s
office today, it was a big waste of time; the doctor was too busy to meet with
my sister and I. We’d been waiting in an
exam room for 30 minutes beyond my appointment time when one of his nurses came
in to tell us the surgeon still had 2 more patients ahead of us to see. She gave us the option of waiting longer or to
see the physician’s assistant so we opted to see the PA, neither of us had
another 30 to 45 minutes to wait for the doctor to get to us. I figured that if there was anything
important to tell me the PA could pass it along. Granted, he’s been pretty much useless every
other time we’ve seen him, but I was reasonably sure he could pass on what his
boss wants us to know. All in all, it
was a complete waste of 4 hours of paid vacation time. The only useful information I got from it was
that I need to stretch my hip several times a day: I told the PA that I’ve been having some
lingering discomfort in my left hip, at a particular spot, and he reminded me
which stretch would take care of it.
My homework style physical therapy really felt good tonight;
I extended the amount of time riding the stationary bike and allowed myself to
enjoy the strain of completing the other 8 exercises. It’s not as good as running but it feels good
to work hard to complete a task.
Day 41 (Tue) – Before having surgery I used to walk laps
around my office building at work; one or two laps, several times a day. It felt good to get some sun, fresh air, and
some warmth. Today I decided to start
walking around my building again. I
could only do one lap each time now though, my foot just got too sore too
quickly. It was another nice instance of
returning to what was once normal.
Day 42 (Wed) – I’m at the half way point now, 6 weeks since
the surgery and 6 more weeks of recovery to go.
It’s really frustrating sometimes, going through all of this
voluntarily, but I know that it’s important to me now and in the future.
This week’s lesson of ChiWalking/ChiRunning has helped me
move better: It’s helped me stand
straight and move about in a way that really limits the discomfort I’ve felt in
my hip. The lesson/task is a simple one but
when your mind is focused more on pain and the fear of pain than it is on
moving as the body is truly designed the extra focus is a big relief.
Tonight’s home physical therapy felt great: It was just the right amount of strain and
relief that I might have actually sighed after finishing. heh
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